Ask Matt: Is it time to bail on retail stocks?

A: It’s been an ugly year for most retail stocks. And investors might be wondering why then should even bother with them.

The SPDR S&P Retail exchange-traded fund is down roughly 7% this year, as a stream of retailers ranging from PetSmart to Wal-Mart and Staples have disappointed investors with their quarterly results. Some of the declines by retail stocks are absolutely brutal. Shares of teen retailer, Aeropostale, for instance, are down 73% from where they were a year ago.

Now’s not a great time to try to speculate on the retail group as a whole, says S&P Capital IQ retail analyst Efraim Levy. He points out that retailers have very individual situations making it difficult to make a sweeping characterization about the industry.

For instance, while many retailers are struggling, shares of drugstore Rite Aid are up 170% from year ago levels.

Investors trying to speculate on individual retailers need to take the time to research the very unique and particular aspects of those individual companies. Investors who don’t want to do to that level of analysis should simply just own shares in the Standard & Poor’s 500, which has a heavy dose of retailers, including the giants Wal-Mart and Target.

USA TODAY markets reporter Matt Krantz answers a different reader question every weekday. To submit a question, e-mail Matt at mkrantz@usatoday.com or on Twitter @mattkrantz